ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
ONDC to democratize e-Commerce and enable millions of small traders to avail opportunities offered by e- Commerce: Secretary Shri Anurag Jain
Secretary DPIIT, Shri Anurag Jain Inaugurates ONDC Office in New Delhi
Secretary Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade , Shri Anurag Jain today said that Open Network for Digital Commerce  will democratize e-Commerce and enable millions of small traders take advantage of opportunities thrown up by e-commerce. He added that ONDC will also empower consumers by offering more choice. He said this after inaugurating the office of ONDC in New Delhi.
On the occasion, Shri Anurag Jain said that India has taken the path of building public digital infrastructure for serving her citizens and UPI, Jan Dhan, Aadhar, CoWin and ULIP are examples of this approach. He emphasized that ONDC is a similar initiative with tremendous potential. We are doing something which has not been done anywhere else in the world, he added.
Open Network for Digital Commerce , is an initiative of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade , Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, to create a facilitative model to revolutionize digital commerce, giving greater thrust to penetration of retail e-commerce in India.
As a true startup, ONDC began operations by working in a co-working space. Today, inauguration of ONDC’s official workplace is a milestone in the journey of the organization.
With the vision to create an organization with a startup mindset supported by government, 'Open Network for Digital Commerce’ was incorporated as a non-profit, Section-8 company on 31st December 2021. The company was incubated at the Quality Council of India, an autonomous organization with DPIIT, where the founding work for the project was initiated in a mission mode. QCI was joined by Protean as the co-founder for incorporation of ONDC. Many public and private banks and financial institutions have contributed equity to ONDC till now. With an authorized capital of 500 crore, ONDC already has commitments of Rs 230 crore with a paid-up capital of Rs 180 crore.
An Advisory Council has been in place since June 2021 with participation from the government and industry. With the growth of the company, 12 board members have joined the company including three government nominees from the Ministries of Commerce and Industry , MSME and Consumer Affairs.
Major ONDC objectives are as follows:
1. Democratisation and decentralization of eCommerce
2. Inclusivity and access for sellers, especially small and medium enterprises as well as local businesses
3. Increased choices and independency for consumers
ONDC’s Beta testing phase in the city of Bengaluru was the first step in operationalising a network approach to e-commerce as an alternative to a platform-centric approach. This will make the e-Commerce landscape more inclusive, accessible and experience-driven for all consumers and sellers.
As part of the Beta testing phase, the network went live to public users in Bengaluru in Grocery and F&B categories on 30th September 2022.
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying
India ranks first in milk production in the world contributing 24% of global milk production
According to production data of Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database, India is the highest milk producer i.e., rank first position in the world contributing twenty-four percent of global milk production in the year 2021-22.
The milk production of India has registered fifty-one percent increase during the last eight years i.e., during the year 2014-15 and 2021-22 and increased to twenty-two crore tonne in the year 2021-22.
This information was given by Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Special Service and Features
Millet Museum in CTCRI
Central Tuber Crops Research Institute , under ICAR has started a Millet Museum in its campus in Thiruvananthapuram by planting different millets such as fox tail millet, little millet, finger millet, barnyard millet, pearl millet, kodo millet, proso millet, sorghum and brown top millet. This is intended to create awareness among people about the significance of millets in our daily diet, as a part of the campaign in connection with International Year of Millets 2023. A series of programmes spanning one year has been planned to showcase the importance of millets in human diet, said Dr. G. Byju, Director, CTCRI while inaugurating the museum.
Dr. J. Sreekumar, Scientist-in-Charge, Social Sciences, other scientists and staff attended the function. A cassava and millet based cookies ‘Milta” was recently developed by the Techno Incubation Centre of CTCRI and studies to develop more such products are going on.
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Ministry of Home Affairs
Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah condoles the passing away of Former Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley
Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah has expressed profound sorrow at the passing away of Former Cabinet Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, today. He said, “I am deeply saddened by the untimely demise of Shri Arun Jaitley. His passing away is a personal loss for me. I have lost not only a senior leader of the organization but also an integral member of the family, whose support and guidance I have been receiving for years. Today his departure has brought a void in the country's politics and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is not possible to be replenished soon”.
The Home Minister further said, “With his unique experience and rare ability, Arun ji served various responsibilities in the party and the government. A brilliant orator and dedicated activist, he held important positions like the country's Finance Minister, Defence Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha”.
“Arunji has left an indelible mark as the Finance Minister of the country during the NDA Government's 2014-19 tenure by implementing Prime Minister's vision for welfare of the poor on ground and placing India as the world's fastest growing economy. He was a people-oriented person and always thought for the welfare of the common man. His every decision reflects this quality - be it the matter of taking action on black money or of realizing the dream of 'GST – One Nation, One Tax' or be it demonetization. The country will always remember him for his very simple and sensitive personality”, Shri Amit Shah said.
Prime Minister's Office
PM presents National Bravery Awards
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today presented the National Bravery Awards to 18 children. Three of these awards were presented posthumously.
Interacting with the awardees, the Prime Minister said their deeds of bravery are discussed extensively, and also highlighted by the media. Therefore, he added, they inspire other children, and often engender a sense of self-confidence among other children.
The Prime Minister remarked that most of the awardees are from rural and humble backgrounds. He said that perhaps their daily struggles had helped instil resilience in them, to deal courageously in adverse situations.
The Prime Minister congratulated all the award winners, their parents and schoolteachers. He also appreciated those, who recorded their instances of bravery, and helped draw attention to them.
Shri Narendra Modi said that after such recognition, future expectations from the awardees become higher than usual. He wished them well in their future endeavours.
The Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt Maneka Gandhi, was present on the occasion.
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Ministry of Home Affairs
Grant of Consular Services to Foreign Nationals, presently residing in India due to travel restrictions in the context of COVID-19 outbreak, till 3rd May, 2020
Union Ministry for Home Affairs , on 28.03.2020, had granted consular services on gratis basis to foreign nationals, presently residing in India due to travel restrictions in the context of COVID-19 outbreak, till 30th April, 2020. 
After considering the matter, it has been decided to extend the period of providing the following consular services by the Office of Foreigners Regional Registration Officers/ Foreigners Registration Officers to foreign nationals, presently stranded in India.
Regular visa, e-visa or stay stipulation, of such foreign nationals who have been stranded in India because of spread of COVID-19 in many parts of the world and also due to travel restrictions imposed by the Indian authorities and whose visas have expired or would be expiring during the period from 01.02.2020  to 03.05.2020 , would be extended till midnight of 03.05.2020 on 'GRATIS' basis, after making online application by the foreigner. Exit to such foreign nationals, if so requested by them during this period, will also be granted to them upto 14 days beyond 03.05.2020 i.e. 17.05.2020 without levy of overstay penalty.
Click here to see Grant of Consular Services to Foreigners till 03.05.2020
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Export of essential agri commodities for the period April-September, 2020 increases by 43.4% as compared to the same period last year
Balance of agri trade also significantly positive at Rs 9002 Crore during April-September 2020
The consistent and concerted efforts of the Government to boost agricultural exports are bearing fruit as despite of the on-going Covid-19 crisis, the export of essential agri commodities for the cumulative period of April-September, 2020 has increased by 43.4% to Rs 53626.6 crore as compared to Rs 37397.3 crore in the same period last year. Major commodity groups which have recorded positive export growth during April-Sept, 2020-21 vis-à-vis April-Sept, 2019-20 are Groundnut , Refined Sugar , wheat , Basmati Rice  and Non-Basmati Rice  etc.
Furthermore, balance of trade during April-September 2020 has been significantly positive at Rs 9002 Crore as against trade deficit of Rs. 2133 during the same period in 2019. On month to month basis , India’s agricultural export of essential agricultural commodities during September, 2020 has been of Rs 9296 crore against export of Rs 5114 crore during September, 2019, showing an increase of 81.7%.
In order to boost agri exports, the Government announced Agriculture Export Policy, 2018 which inter-alia provides for cluster-based approach for export-centric farming of cash crops like fruits, vegetables, spices, etc. whereby clusters for specific agri products are identified across the country and focused interventions are carried out in these clusters.
Eight Export Promotion Forums have been set up under the aegis of APEDA to boost export of agriculture/ horticulture products. The EPFs are created on Banana, Grapes, Mango, Pomegranate, Onion, Dairy, Rice Basmati and Rice Non-Basmati. The EPF are making concerted efforts to identify, document particulars of, and reach out to stakeholders across the entire production/ supply chain of export for increasing these exports significantly to the global market, through various interventions.
Recently, the Government has also announced Agri Infra Fund of Rs. 1 lakh crore to improve agri business environment which shall promote agri export in due course.
Besides, DAC&FW has also prepared a comprehensive action plan/strategy towards promotion of agri trade envisaging twofold approach viz. to boost Agri Export with emphasis on value addition and a detailed action plan for Import Substitution.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
The convergence of people, culture, and rich tradition of Tamilnadu has preserved the unique biodiversity of the region: Union Minister for Environment Shri Bhupender Yadav
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav has said, “The convergence of people, culture, and rich tradition of the beautiful state of Tamilnadu has preserved the unique biodiversity of the region.” This was stated by the Minister in Chennai today during the inauguration of a special exhibition on the occasion of International Day for Biological Diversity. Along with Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Minister for Environment, Government of Tamilnadu Shri Siva. V. Meyyanathan, Shri Bhupender Yadav released a special commemorative postal cover and a book titled ‘India Natural’ and also conferred the India Biodiversity Awards-2021.
While delivering his speech, the Union Minister appealed to the people to take a pledge to work towards conserving biodiversity and sensitising the youth on the issues of conservation. “Biodiversity offers us goods and services that provide the world’s natural living infrastructure and are essential for a well-functioning global economy. It is estimated that approximately 40% of the world’s economy is based on biological products or processes. Any effort at conserving and enhancing biodiversity can only succeed if we tackle the challenge of global warming. Global warming has to be urgently brought under control”, he reiterated.
The Minister stated that the country is on track to achieve the biodiversity targets at the national level and is also contributing significantly towards the achievement of the global biodiversity targets. Further, India has established a unique 3-tier model of participatory biodiversity resource governance at the national, state, and local-body levels, thus ensuring that the entire country gets the representation in our governance system.
Shri Bhupender Yadav also said the Lake Sembakkam, one of the most critical and fragile marshlands of the state is undergoing science-based lake restoration through the efforts of government and civil society organizations. He expressed confidence that this ecological restoration would serve as a role model for other cities in the country.
He informed that as a part of access and benefit-sharing , National Biodiversity Authority and the Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Board  are working with the Irula Snake Catchers Industrial Cooperative Society  to provide access to snake venom to a company namely, iSERA Biological Pvt. Ltd which has signed the ABS agreement. According to this, 5% of the total purchase price of snake venom on an annual basis is being deposited in the ISCICS account for benefit of the community. Such partnerships are needed to strengthen and incentivise conservation, he added.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Nikolai Snesarev appointed as middle- and long-distance coach of Indian athletics team
Government has approved the appointment of Belarussian coach Nikolai Snesarev as the middle- and long-distance coach of the Indian athletics team. The 72-year-old has been appointed till the end of September, a period which will coincide with the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to take place in July-August.
He will be coaching 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable, who has already qualified for the Olympics, and other middle- and long-distance runners, as they aim to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Athletics Federation of India President Adille Sumariwalla hailed the appointment of Snesarev and hopes it will further improve the performances of Indian middle- and long-distance runners. “Avinash Sable wants to train with Nikolai again and we hope this will help him improve further,” he said.
“Nikolai has had a good record with India and years of experience with our middle- and long-distance runners. He has helped athletes like Lalita Babar who finished in top 10 in steeplechase at the 2016 Olympic Games. He has good results with Sudha Singh as well as Avinash Sable who trained with him initially,” Mr. Sumariwalla said.
Snesarev has been associated with Indian athletics since his first engagement in 2005 and has coached a number of other Indian athletes like Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut.
Ministry of Finance
DGGI refutes multiple speculative media reports in case of M/s Odochem Industries; sets the record straight on facts
In the context of ongoing investigations by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence  in the case of M/s Odochem Industries, Kannauj- a manufacturer of perfumery compounds - and its proprietor Shri Peeyush Jain, wherein a total cash of Rs. 197.49 crore, 23 kg of gold and offending goods of high value have been recovered so far from two premises, reports have appeared in certain sections of the media that DGGI has decided to treat the cash recovered as the turnover of the manufacturing unit and proposes to proceed accordingly. Some reports have even stated that after admitting his liability, Shri Peeyush Jain has, with the approval of DGGI, deposited a total amount of Rs 52 crore as tax dues. Thus, it is made out as if the department has agreed with the deposition of Shri Peeyush Jain and finalised the tax liability accordingly.
These reports are purely speculative, without any basis and seek to undermine the integrity of the ongoing investigations which are being carried out in a most professional manner based on specific intelligence against the party.
In this regard, it is clarified that the total amount of cash in the ongoing case from the residential and factory premises of M/s Peeyush Jain has been kept as case property in the safe custody of the State Bank of India pending further investigations. No deposit of tax dues has been made by M/s Odochem Industries from the seized money to discharge their tax liabilities and their tax liabilities are yet to be determined.
Further, the voluntary submissions made by Shri Peeyush Jain are a subject matter of ongoing investigations and any view on the source of cash seized by the department and the exact tax liabilities of M/s Odochem Industries or other parties involved in the investigation shall be taken on the basis of appraisal of evidences collected from various premises during the searches and the outcome of further investigations.
Based on his voluntary admission of guilt and the evidence available on record, Shri Peeyush Jain was arrested on 26.12.2021 for commission of offences prescribed under section 132 of the CGST Act and was produced before the Competent Court on 27.12.2021. The Hon’ble Court has remanded him to 14 days judicial custody.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
Dr. Ambedkar scheme for social integration
59  proposals have been received from District Magistrate/District Collector of Maharashtra State in last three years.
No proposal has been received during last three years from District Satara of Maharashtra State.
Many proposals are either directly received from the applicants without recommendation of the concerned DMs/DCs/State Welfare Officer from all States or having discrepancies of required documents.
Dr. Ambedkar scheme for social integration through Inter Caste marriages have been communicated to the District Collector/Deputy Commissioner of all Districts of the State. Further details for the scheme can be referred in the website of DAF www.ambedkarfoundation.nic.in. As no proposal has been received from Satara in the last three years corrective steps at present are not required to be taken.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri A. Narayanaswamy in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Science & Technology
CSIR-NAL develop Personal Protective Coverall Suit to Combat COVID-19
, along with MAF Clothing Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru has developed and certified the overall protective coverall suit. The polyproplylene spun laminated multi-layered non-woven fabric based coverall can be used to ensure the safety of Doctors, Nurses, Paramedical staff and Health Care workers working round the clock on COVID-19 mitigation.
CSIR-NAL team lead by Dr. Harish C Barshilia, Dr. Hemant Kumar Shukla, and Mr. M J Viju of MAF have worked quickly to find the solution to the problem by identifying suitable indigenous materials and innovative manufacturing processes.
The Coveralls have gone through stringent testing at SITRA, Coimbatore and have been qualified for use. CSIR-NAL and MAF have plans to augment the production capacity to about 30,000 units per day within four weeks’ time.
Shri Jitendra J Jadhav, Director, CSIR-NAL has stated that the major advantages of these Coveralls are that they are highly competitive in price as compared to other manufacturers and the import content is negligible. He appreciated the efforts of NAL, MAF Clothing Pvt Ltd and SITRA team who have worked round the clock for this national cause by accelerating the development and certification process.
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister meets President of Uzbekistan on sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit-2019 in Ahmedabad
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and President of Uzbekistan H.E. Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the "Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit-2019” on 18 January. Earlier, President Mirziyoyev, leading a large and high powered delegation arrived in Gandhinagar on 17 January received by Shri O. P. Kohli, Governor of Gujarat.
During their meeting, Prime Minister extended a warm welcome to President Mirziyoyev and his delegation to Gujarat. Recalling their last meeting during the State Visit of President Mirziyoyev to India held on 30 September-1 October, 2018, Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction on progress and implementation of various decisions taken during the State Visit. Referring to the MoU on cooperation between Gujarat and the Andijan region of Uzbekistan signed during the State Visit, Prime Minister noted the presence of the Governor of Andijan region in the Uzbek delegation and expressed hope that as a result of President Mirziyoyev’s visit, relationship between Uzbekistan and India and region-to-region cooperation between Andijan and Gujarat would be further strengthened.
Prime Minister thanked President Mirziyoyev for his support for the First India-Central Asia Dialogue held at the level of Foreign Ministers in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on 12-13 January 2019 where important discussions also took place on support to peace and development in Afghanistan.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev thanked Prime Minister for the invitation to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.He informed Prime Minister that Uzbekistan attaches high priority to attracting investments from India and mentioned sectors of IT, education, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, agri-business and tourism as some of the priority areas for Uzbekistan’s prospective cooperation with India.
President Mirziyoyev congratulated Prime Minister on the successful outcome of the First India-Central Asia Dialogue which demonstrated India's positive impact on the Central Asia region and the joint quest of the participant countries for peace in Afghanistan.
Both leaders witnessed the exchange of the contract between the Department of Atomic Energy of India and the Novoi Minerals and Metallurgical Company of the Republic of Uzbekistan on long-term supply of Uranium Ore Concentrate for India's energy requirements.
Both leaders also welcomed the signing of the agreement between the Export-Import Bank of India and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on a Line of Credit of USD 200 million supported by the Government of India for financing housing and social infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan.The Line of Credit of USD 200 million to Uzbekistan had been announced earlier by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the State Visit of President Mirziyoyev.